Some functions of a fixed-location radio device rely on precise geographic location information. The location information is sometimes obtained during an initial configuration routine. However, it may be undesirable to integrate a GPS receiver or other self-determining location capability into the radio device since the radio device is not expected to move very often during its operational lifespan. For instance, it is expected that the radio device will not move and, if it is moved to a new location, the initial configuration will be carried out again. Configuration is expected to be carried out with extreme infrequency, perhaps as seldom as once during the lifetime of the radio device. Therefore, including self-determining location capability in fixed-location radio devices is considered uneconomical due to its infrequency of use.
In addition, the process of measuring, recording and transferring location data, for example to a remote spectrum management server, may not be accurate, reliable or practical, even with reliance on GPS. Fixed-location radio devices are often deployed in places (e.g., indoors) with poor or inaccurate GPS triangulation. Furthermore, if different radio devices were to report location data in different manners, a remote spectrum management system would need to be configured to act on location information reported using multiple reference point datums (WGS, NAD, etc.) and formats (DMS, decimal degrees, etc.).
There are several reasons why location information for a fixed-location radio device is desirable. One reason is to provide the ability to acquire location specific information, such as spectrum or channel availability information for the location. An example of channel availability information that is location specific is a list of available television (TV) white space channels that is obtained from a TV white space registration management system.